Croatia proposes new rules for military recruits and personnel living abroad

Croatia has proposed changes to three regulations governing mandatory basic military training and military service, including a higher allowance for personnel training recruits and new procedures for assessing recruits’ medical fitness.

The proposals were presented by the Ministry of Defence in Zagreb on Wednesday and will now enter public consultation.

The amendments aim to clarify procedures introduced following the start of Croatia’s basic military training programme in 2026, which has so far been conducted across three intake periods.

Higher allowance for military instructors

One of the main proposals is to increase the daily salary supplement for active military personnel directly involved in training recruits from 4% to 6% of the basic salary calculation rate.

The increase would apply to instructors, senior instructors and team leaders responsible for directly delivering training, provided they are engaged in training for at least four hours on a given day.

The Ministry said the proposed increase reflects the complexity of the work, the growing number of recruits and the need to maintain training standards.

The third intake period saw capacity increased to 1,000 recruits.

Annual expenditure on the supplement currently stands at approximately €1.6 million. Under the proposed changes, this would rise to around €2.2 million.

New procedures for medical assessments

The second set of amendments concerns the assessment of medical fitness among conscripts and recruits.

The proposed rules would establish procedures for reassessing recruits whose health changes during basic military training and affects their ability to continue training or serve in the armed forces.

As the training programme lasts two months, the Ministry says medical assessments need to be completed promptly, with clear deadlines for medical examinations and psychological assessments.

The amendments would also assign responsibility for occupational medicine assessments to the relevant unit of the Ministry of Defence and the Croatian Armed Forces’ Military Medical Centre.

The proposed rules would remove the option of recording a recruit’s medical status as “not assessed” in this process. A decision to discontinue training on medical grounds must be based on a finding that the recruit is unfit.

Changes for military personnel living abroad

The third proposal concerns military service records and the fulfilment of military obligations by people who do not have a registered residence in Croatia.

Under the proposed changes, the director of the Ministry’s Human Resources Directorate could designate the regional defence office responsible for an individual’s rights and obligations.

The aim is to allow people living outside Croatia to fulfil their obligations through a more accessible office, rather than having to travel to the ministry’s headquarters in Zagreb.

A provision concerning travel-daily-allowance compensation would also be removed from the regulation because the matter is already covered by other implementing rules.

The proposed amendments will be published through Croatia’s e-Savjetovanja public consultation portal, allowing interested members of the public to submit comments and suggestions.

Consultation on the salary supplement regulation will last 15 days, while the two remaining proposals will be open for public consultation for 30 days.

The proposals have not yet been adopted.